


The Star (is Gone)

by asianlychallengedasian



Category: Persona 5
Genre: AU where Scramble and Royal happened in the same universe, Alcohol, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drunkenness, Gen, Phone Calls, Unbeta'd, Unresolved Tension, akeshu if you squint, don't ask how i was drunk when i wrote this, pegoryu if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:48:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28485618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asianlychallengedasian/pseuds/asianlychallengedasian
Summary: Stars are beautiful, but they disappear in the bright lights of the city.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira & Sakamoto Ryuji
Kudos: 6





	The Star (is Gone)

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, sorry if this makes no sense; I wanted to prove a point to myself MNDJDKDKFNDJS
> 
> I hope you like it regardless!

Since Ryuji started physical therapy, he had been arriving home much later than what used to be normal, before the Akira and the Phantom Thieves and… Everything happened. As such, he hasn’t had as much time trying to keep his homework done and his grades up.

Used to, he wouldn’t have cared much about his grades. Before Kamoshida, he didn’t have to worry about his grades. After Kamoshida, he had no effort to worry about his grades. But now, in order to keep his scholarship to the new school he chose, he had to keep an average over a B. And he had never been excellent at having good grades.

So needless to say, he hadn’t been contacting his friends much. He made new friends at his new school running track, but they could never compare to the people he had traversed the country with. But it wasn’t like he was the only one.

Makoto and Haru saw each other often-- they had to, they were roommates-- but otherwise none of the group had been in contact since summer. The group chat had been dead since early August, and it was now late January, the air bitter and cold with white flurries floating down. 

So when he received the text, he had expected it to be his mother, someone from the therapy center, or even one of the track team to have been on the sending end. He checked his phone, and the name  **Akira** was above the notification. It wasn’t something he was expecting. 

Nor was the message that was under it.

_ Ruu, you know I miss you, rite _

Ryuji was sort of in a state of surprise; even after time, he knew Akira wouldn’t normally text-- or say, much less-- something like that. Still, he humored him.

_ Ya, of course, bro. _

Suddenly, his ringtone goes off-- It’s Akira. --he’s on the train, he can’t just  _ answer-- _ but  _ it’s Akira _ \-- Akira would’ve never call unless it was serious. Slowly, Ryuji’s thumb moved to the answer button.

“Hello?”

“Ryuji, omigod, hey,” Ryuji heard through the phone, before a rustling. “Um, how are you?”

“I’m alright, Akira, what’s up?” Ryuji said, moderately concerned. Ryuji could tell something was wrong, but didn’t know  _ what.  _ It was an aura somewhat familiar to him.

“I’m good. We just-just haven’t talked in a while, I wanted to catch up. You know. Like old friends. I don’t know.” Akira chuckled over the line before pausing. “But wait, you asked what was up, so uh- nothing much. Sorry. I’m used to responding to ‘how are you’ and- I’m talking too much. How are you?”

Ryuji furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn’t quite figure him out. “I’ve been fine-- uh, it’s been rough with the PT, but I’ve been getting better.” Ryuji says. “You sure you’re fine, man?”

“Yeah!” Akira said. “It’s just… My parents aren’t home and… I was bored, so. My dad drinks a lot, you know, fun fact. But wait--”

And it clicked in Ryuji’s mind. 

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

Akira was quiet for a moment. Longer than a moment. Long enough for Ryuji to take his silence as confirmation.

“This was a horrible… Sorry, Ryuji, I’ll just--” Akira sighed, but Ryuji cut him off.

“No it’s fine.”  _ Even if it wasn’t, he wasn’t going to leave Akira alone.  _ “What did you want to talk about? Literally anything.” Even if Ryuji felt like hanging up, he’s sure that Akira didn’t call for no reason.

“It wasn’t- wasn’t anything. I just wanted to hear your voice, Ryu.” Akira mumbled, the phone shuffling against something.

The line falls silent. It’s like that for a while. Ryuji couldn’t hang up on him, so the line only consists of breathing from both ends.

Ryuji exits the train, and is halfway home before Akira speaks again. 

“I miss you. I miss you all.” Akira said. “It’s.. It’s so hard here without you all.” He admitted. “Yeah, 2016-- 2016 really fucking sucked. Maybe not as much for y’all, but…” Akira breathed. “But I miss y’all, so much. It was the best year of my life.” Akira laughed. “I’m sure that makes no sense, but isn’t that life?”

Ryuji chuckled. “Yeah, I get you. I get you.” He grabbed the key to his apartment out of his pocket, and unlocked the door. 

“Getting fucking assaulted by the police fucking sucked. Getting tricked by a god fucking sucked. Maruki fucking sucked.” Akira said. “But meeting you guys was… The best thing that could’ve happened to me.” Akira sighed. “You know, I could relate to Akechi. That’s why-- That’s why I sympathized for him so much. That’s why… I wanted him to be alive.”

Ryuji frowned as he shut the door. “I… can’t relate to that. I respect you bro, but he was fucking shitty. You aren’t.”

“But the thing is,” Akira interrupted, “I could’ve- could’ve been him. He could’ve been me. Even without that--” Akira shuddered, “I’m just… a shitty… kid.” 

“Akira…”

“It’s true!” Akira asserted. “I’ve got a strong sense of justice. But didn’t Akechi do too? We were-- were  _ made _ to counterpart each other.” He breathed.

“Akira, you aren’t making any sense.” Ryuji sighed, “But if even so, that doesn’t make you  _ him _ .” Akira sounded like he was about to speak, but Ryuji cut him off.

“No, listen.” Ryuji said. “Just-- just because you both have a sense of justice,”  _ If he even did,  _ “His was completely effed. You’ve always been on the right side. And plus, you haven’t killed people,” Ryuji said as if it made the most sense in the world. It did.

Akira shifted the phone again. “I guess you’re right,” He sounded resigned. He sounded like he was keeping something in. “Listen, I need to get going.” Akira said. “I’ll be okay, don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

Ryuji was reluctant to let him go, but the line rang out, signalling the line was cut off.

The room felt cold, Ryuji noticed. Like something was empty. Ryuji stared at the phone blankly, before putting the phone down.

Something in Ryuji was empty. Ryuji sighed.

_ I miss you, too, Akira. _


End file.
